Summer 2012 - The Mill Hill Missionaries

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Summer 2012 Advocate:Layout 1 19/07/2012 12:14 Page 30AFTER Easter, weread the Acts of theApostles duringMass. I love to hear thestories of how theGospel spread amongthe first believers afterthe Resurrection ofJesus. It is as if you can’t containthe Good News; it spreads soquickly. As soon as the Gospelreaches a place it transforms thepeople, energises them and makesthem to want to share it with otherswho themselves go on to shareit. We see this movement repeatedagain and again in the history ofthe church; as soon as people hearthe Gospel they want to share it. Isuppose that’s why we called itGood News.Fr. Richard Njoroge mhmIt was because of this desire to share thatover a hundred years ago Mill Hill Missionariesfrom Ireland, Britain, Tirol and Holland,and from other countries, arrived inthe western part of Kenya, in Isebania,where I am from. They came because theyhad been sent and because like the firstChristians communities in the Acts of theApostles they thought the Gospel was preciousand worth sharing.A young strong vibrant churchThe faith that these Missionaries plantedhas grown into a young, vibrant Church thatis now beginning to send out its own missionariesand continue the work of spreadingthe Gospel. In many ways I see myselfboth as part of this movement and a fruit ofthe great work of these first Missionaries.When I was young, therewere Mill Hill Missionaries workingin the parish where I grew up. Iwas inspired by the fact they hadcome from so far away to share theGospel, as well as by the way theylived and worked with my people.I thought I too would like to be aMissionary.My first appointment, after ordination asa Mill Hill Missionary, was to the rainforests of Mamfe diocese, in Cameroon. Iwas given responsibility for twenty villagesin the remote areas of Kembong and Afap.This was my opportunity to make a positivecontribution of sharing the precious gift ofthe Gospel and to give back what I had receivedfrom the Missionaries in Kenya. Mywork as a Missionary involved many differentactivities but at the heart of them allwas the desire to not only spread theGospel, but also to help build Christiancommunities that themselves reached outand shared the Gospel.Kembong and Afap are remote areas, and Ihad to do lots of trekking, which meant spendingmany weeks at a time travelling on footbetween villages. I was always touched by thewelcome people gave me when I arrived:“Wonderful! Fadda done come oh!” (‘wonderful!Father has come’) they would say in PidginEnglish when they saw me. Many of thethings I did in the villages are the same as allpriests would do all over the world; celebratingthe Eucharist, baptising, teaching catechism,visiting the sick and the elderly and buryingthe dead. I tried to pay particular attention toworking with young people, organising activitiesfor them such as sports competitions andsocial activities, and trying to engage them inthe faith.29
Summer 2012 Advocate:Layout 1 19/07/2012 12:14 Page 31Inspired by the responseI was inspired by the way people respondedwith their generosity not only intheir hospitality towards me, but also in theway they gave their time and effort to buildingChristian communities. Some of the villageswere quite remote and difficult toreach. For example, Bachie, because of itslocation, had not been visited by a priest forover three years when I arrived: yet despitethis lack of contact there was still a smallgroup of people who met every Sunday topray the Rosary. As the Missionary, I wasthe one who was supposed to preach theGood News to them, but that small groupof Christians taught me how precious thegift of faith is. Oftentimes I found myselfasking who is evangelising whom?One day I was staying in the furthest villagewhen news came that some people ina village even further into the rain foresthad expressed an interest in learning aboutJesus. In that part of the forest there wereno Christians at all, so after meeting withsome of the Christian leaders we decided tosend a group of Christians, as missionaries,to reach out and visit that village (See photoat beginning of article). We walked for 20miles through the rain forest and we weregiven a most amazing welcome. After thatfirst visit ten adults became catechumensand now there is a small but growing Christianpresence. That group of missionaries intheir zeal to reach out to others were followingin the footsteps of the first missionarieswe read about in the Acts of theApostles. Their cooperation, willingnessand readiness to making a positive contributionof setting up new Christian communitywere a source of inspiration to me.After about four years of working inKembong and Afap, I became VocationsDirector for Mill Hill in Cameroon. My rolewas to help young men and women to discernif God is calling them to carry on thegreat task of spreading the Gospel. Afternearly 2,000 years there are still so manypeople who have not yet heard the GoodNews. It is great to be part of preparing thenext generation of Missionaries who arewilling to go out and share the Good News,a task begun by the apostles which the MillHill Missionaries continue carrying outtoday, and in which I feel blessed to haveplayed a small part.30Please Remember theMissions in your willI bequeath to St Joseph’s Society for the Missions Inc,(Mill Hill Missionaries), Waterford Road, Kilkenny, the sum ofe............................................... free of dutyto be applied in Ireland for the general purpose of the said Society,and I declare that the receipt of the Rev. Directorfor the time being ofSt Joseph’s Society, Waterford Road, Kilkenny,shall be a sufficient discharge of the same.
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Summer 2012 - The Mill Hill Missionaries

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